Rams, Leopards Meet in The Middle

Tonights rivalry game between HHWS and the East High Leopards was a hard fought game that ended with a stalemate.  With the final score of 1-1 after two periods of OT, it’s safe to say that the Rams were not stepping off the field with out a fight.

During the first half of the game, East dominated possession and kept the Lady Rams on their heels. East managed to contain the ball on Highland’s side, and successfully defend any and all attempts Highland had to try and score. While East continued to control the ball, Highland’s attempts seemed to be more or less purposeless, with very little build up play occurring.  With, 19 minutes left in the first half, East scored a goal, putting them up 1-0 over the Rams.  This goal was almost followed moments later but was narrowly kept out of the net.

Halftime passed, and it was clear that the Rams were frustrated and weren’t going down without a fight.  East again managed to contain the ball on their side for most of the second half as well. Highland senior, Kayla Greer was a key player that helped anchor the defense for the Lady Rams.  Greer continued to impress the crowd with her quick ball stops, as well as her long strides.

“I’m really proud of my team for not giving up and fighting hard until the end,” said Greer, “we were able to get a point out of the tie and keep our seat above East in region.”

Once 5 minutes left in the game hit, the pressure hit as well. The Rams finally began to gel together as a team, and their attacks seemed to finally be wearing down the East defense.  The breakthrough for the Rams finally came when senior, Emma Thornton, took on what seemed to be the entire East defense before slotting a ball into the back of the net as she was taken down by an East defender.  This evened the score at 1-1, which ended up sending the game into OT.

The Rams continued to perform well under the pressure, and did not give up their fight for a win. Rather than East having all the possession in OT, Highland stepped up and took over. This intense OT period ended with the score still being 1-1, causing the game to end in a draw.

While a draw was not the ideal result for the Lady Rams tonight, one point is always better than none.  The Lady Rams are back in action next Tuesday vs. Box Elder.